Machine for continuous treatment by means of liquids, more particularly for pasteurisation of substances in sachets

ABSTRACT

A liquid-treatment machine, particularly a pasteuriser, includes a conveyor carrying openwork basket through the treatment region.

United States Patent Moreau [111 3,868,897 [451 Mar. 4, 1975 MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS TREATMENT BY MEANS OF LIQUIDS, MORE PARTICULARLY FOR PASTEURISATION OF SUBSTANCES IN SACHETS Inventor: Claude Moreau, Nantes, France Assignee: Societe F inanciere Et Industrielle Des Ateliers Et Chantiers De Bretagne, Loire Atlantique, France Filed: June 26, 1972 Appl. N0.: 266,399

Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 17, 1972 France 72.13392 U.S. C1. 99/483, 198/143 Int. Cl A231 3/08 Field 01' Search 99/360, 361, 362, 404,

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 989,141 4/1911 Gettelman 99/362 2,010,667 8/1935 Herold 99/362 2,071,670 2/1937 Warner 198/143 2,616,359 11/1952 Pierson 99/404 2,807,203 9/1957 Buechele 99/404 Primary E.rmniner-R0bert W. Jenkins Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [57] ABSTRACT A liquid-treatment machine, particularly a pasteuriser, includes a conveyor carrying openwork basket through the treatment region. I

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHAR 4|975 SHEET 1 0F 4 PATEMEW 4'97?) 3.868 897 sum u 15 3 MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUS TREATMENT BY MEANS OF LIQUIDS, MORE PARTICULARLY FOR PASTEURISATION OF SUBSTANCES IN SACHETS This invention relates to the treatment by means of liquids of products such as sachets containing food or pharmaceutical substances. The invention is particularly applicable to pasteurisation.

The present trend towards the packaging of individual portions, and the development of supermarkets, have resulted in the ever-increasing use of products packed in sachets, for example sachets of synthetic plastic material, the products being required to undergo pasteurisation by internal temperature rise of the sachet to values below 100C. This temperature rise must be followed by cooling To carry out these treatments, the machines used comprise an endless conveyor having shells which hold the products when the conveyor run is straight, and which move apart on passing over the reversing gearwheels, so that the sachets can be loaded and removed. However, the conveyor also has to undergo another two bends so that the shells can be immersed in the treatment tank, and the result of this is that the sachets frequently escape from the shells. Also, cooling, which is carried out by sprinkling, is not very effective, and the sachets do not always leave the shells satisfactorily at the unloading station when the shells move apart, so that careful supervision is required.

Other machines are known in which the sachets are simply placed on an endless conveyor and are treated by sprinkling both for pasteurisation and cooling. These machines, which do not obviate all the disadvantages of the previous machines, are less effective than the latter and are also larger. In either case, the loading station is a long way away from the unloading station and the conveyor return run is not utilised.

The main object of this invention is to provide a machine which obviates any less of product, provides effective and readily controlled unloading, effective cooling, and enables the conveyor return run to be utilised.

To this end, according to the invention, the conveyor is equipped with openwork baskets to receive the products, said baskets being closed by a cover associated with opening and closing devices provided at the loading and unloading stations.

These two stations are advantageously grouped at one of the ends of the conveyor and the latter comprises two substantially horizontal and parallel runs respectively passing through superposed treatment tanks.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is given by way of example without any limiting force.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal section ofa machine according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a section on II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial detail view of one end of the basket.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section showing the detail of a basket.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view showing the action of the basket opening cams.

In the exemplified embodiment illustrated in the drawing, the machine comprises a frame 1 which sup ports two superposed horizontal tanks 2 and 3. The bottom tank 3 is longer than the tank 2, the longitudinal section of which is trapezoidal, as will be apparent from FIG. 1.

,;Tank 2 is adapted to receive a sterilisation liquid and tank 3 a cooling liquid, into which tanks are to be immersed wide rectangular perforate baskets 4, which contain the products to be sterilised.

These baskets, the length of which is slightly less than the width of the tanks (FIG. 2), are attached to parallel chains 5 which are made to pass through the tanks 2 and 3 along the side walls thereof so as to form an endless conveyor.

Referring to FIG. 1, the chains 5 pass around end gearwheels 6 at the loading and unloading station at the left-hand of the machine, and then over reversing pulleys 7 situated above and forwardly of the sterilisation tank 2 and immediately beneath larger gearwheels 8 which cause them to be immersed in the liquid in the tank. They follow the bottom of the tank and at the other end they pass beneath gearwheels 9 and then over driving gearwheels 10.

The latter are driven by a motor 11 via a transmission 12. After the driving gearwheels the chains pass beneath the reversing gearwheels l3 and 14 situated in the cooling tank 3 near the ends of the latter and then over a final set of gearwheels 15 preceding the loading station. The various gearwheels are mounted on the frame 1 by means of transverse shafts or spindles 16 and bearings 17 (FIG. 2).

The baskets 4 are attached to the chains 5 by means of lateral lugs 18 provided at the ends of the baskets, and bolts 19, for which purpose the chains bear brackets 20 (FIG. 3). The basket is attached in its central part at practically one-third of its height.

Referring to FIG. 4, each of the baskets comprises a main body 21 of elongate polygonal section amply open at one of its ends and along one of its side surfaces. A cover 22 extending over the entire width of the basket is articulated to this body substantially at the place where the lugs are situated for assembly to the chains. Outside the body 21 the cover 22 has end plates 23 each bearing a projecting finger 24, which is also visible in FIG. 3. The cover is kept closed by springs 25 coiled on the cover pivot 26, these springs being fixed by bolts 27.

When it is closed, the basket has two parallel central surfaces 28 and 29 and it is constricted near its base 30 and near the place where the free edge of the cover 22 is applied. These constrictions allow the conveyor to bend in the two directions when the chains pass over the gearwheels.

Normally the basket is closed so that the containers or other products to be sterilised are prevented from escaping. It is opened and closed at the loading and unloading station by means of semicircular ramps 31 fixed at this station to the frame I coaxially to the gearwheels 6 and interposed in the paths described by the lateral fingers 24 of the baskets.

FIG. 5 shows this opening and closing mechanism.

After clearing the reversing gearwheels 15 (FIG. 1), the baskets 4 approach the gearwheels 6 in an oblique descending path, with their opening extending downwardly. The lateral fingers 24 of the cover 22 then meet the access ramps 32 of the earns 31 which ensure total opening of the covers 22 substantially when the basket is vertical, so that the latter can be correctly emptied. The sterilised products drop on to a conveyor 33 which carries them away.

The basket remains open until its fingers 24 have left the cams 31, and since the cams extend over approximately 180 about the axis of the gearwheels 6, there is ample time for the machine operatives to fill the baskets. When the fingers 24 leave the cams, the cover 22 closes again under the influence of the springs 25.

The baskets containing the products for sterilisation initially pass through the sterilisation tank 2 which, for example, contains hot water, and then they are immersed in the tank 3, which is fed with cold water by its end near the loading station. This water flows in countercurrent in the tank 3 in relation to the chains and to the baskets, thus allowing maximum heat exchange. The water is delivered by a pump 34 (FIG. 2).

A lid 35 covers the tank 2 and the top run of the chain conveyor and baskets in order to limit heat losses.

The present invention can be applied to the treatment of any product by means of liquids. It is particularly suitable for the continuous pasteurisation of flat products which tend to float, such as sachets of synthetic plastic material containing food or pharmaceutical substances.

1 claim:

1. In a machine for continuously subjecting products to liquid treatment and comprising an endless conveyor having gear wheels at its ends which carries the products from a loading station to an unloading station as it passes through one or more treatment stations, the improvement comprising providing said conveyor with open work baskets to receive the products, said open work baskets being provided with a hinged cover urged into closure position and wherein cam devices are provided at the loading station and the unloading station for opening said cover as the basket passes the station, said loading and unloading stations being grouped at one end of the conveyor, said cam devices being common to these two stations, and wherein covers of said baskets have projections which cooperate with lateral cams disposed coaxially of the gearwheels of the corresponding end of the conveyor, the bottom run of the conveyor arriving obliquely downwards in the direction of said gearwheels and leaving the same obliquely upwards, the cams extending over substantially from points situated slightly downstream of the lowest point of the conveyor.

2. The improved machine of claim 1 wherein the baskets are disposed transversely of the conveyor between two lateral chains.

3. The improved machine of claim 2, wherein the baskets have a cross-section of elongate shape perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the conveyor, the ends of the baskets being constricted to enable the conveyor to bend.

4. The improved machine of claim 1, wherein the conveyor comprises two substantially horizontal and parallel runs, the machine having two superposed tanks through which the two respective runs pass.

5. The improved machine of claim 4, wherein the top tank receives a pasteurisation liquid while the bottom tank receives a cooling liquid.

6. The machine of claim 5, wherein the cooling tank is fed with liquid in counter-current in relation to the movement of the conveyor.

7. The improved machine of claim 6 wherein the pasteurisation tank is provided with a lid which covers the conveyor. 

1. In a machine for continuously subjecting products to liquid treatment and comprising an endless conveyor having gear wheels at its ends which carries the products from a loading station to an unloading station as it passes through one or more treatment stations, the improvement comprising providing said conveyor with open work baskets to receive the products, said open work baskets being provided with a hinged cover urged into closure position and wherein cam devices are provided at the loading station and the unloading station for opening said cover as the basket passes the station, said loading and unloading stations being grouped at one end of the conveyor, said cam devices being common to these two stations, and wherein covers of said baskets have projections which cooperate with lateral cams disposed coaxially of the gearwheels of the corresponding end of the conveyor, the bottom run of the conveyor arriving obliquely downwards in the direction of said gearwheels and leaving the same obliquely upwards, the cams extending over substantially 180* from points situated slightly downstream of the lowest point of the conveyor.
 2. The improved machine of claim 1 wherein the baskets are disposed transversely of the conveyor between two lateral chains.
 3. The improved machine of claim 2, wherein the baskets have a cross-section of elongate shape perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the conveyor, the ends of the baskets being constricted to enable the conveyor to bend.
 4. The improved machine of claim 1, wherein the conveyor comprises two substantially horizontal and parallel runs, the machine having two superposed tanks through which the two respective runs pass.
 5. The improved machine of claim 4, wherein the top tank receives a pasteurisation liquid while the bottom tank receives a cooling liquid.
 6. The machine of claim 5, wherein the cooling tank is fed with liquid in counter-current in relation to the movement of the conveyor.
 7. The improved machine of claim 6 wherein the pasteurisation tank is provided with a lid which covers the conveyor. 